I have an amazing dad who is everything a gentleman should be. As far back as I can remember, he opens car doors for my sister and I, he lets us through the front door first after unlocking it when returning home, and brings us our favorite snack after going grocery shopping just because. It's not just the stereotypical chivalrous things he did as we grew up, though: he also treated his daughters as people with feelings. From politely listening to our side of a problem to communicating his own feelings so we weren't left in the dark, he taught my sister and I from an early age how we deserve to be treated in life.

Unfortunately, heartbreak and pain are inevitable no matter how wonderful your parents were in teaching worth. It's simply a part of life. After all, you have to encounter strife at one point or another in order to learn from it and better yourself for the future.

Sometimes relationships (including friends and significant others) just don't work out or aren't meant to be, and that's OK even though it won't feel like it as you deal with the aftermath. However, it doesn't mean it's OK for people to walk all over you. No one is perfect (I have definitely made my fair share of mistakes that I try to recognize and rectify), but there is a line that cannot be crossed.

I don't deserve to be left in the dark and blaming myself for everything that went wrong. I don't deserve to drive myself crazy overthinking what I could have done differently. I don't deserve to be taken advantage of.

I deserve open, honest communication. I deserve to know someone's intentions from the start so I'm not strung along. I deserve to be treated as a priority rather than someone who you can hit up when you're bored.

I know my worth and I will not accept anything less.